PRIME Minister Gordon Brown is being asked to step in and force the beleaguered boss of Woking Borough Council to resign.

A petition is being circulated asking taxpayers to join calls for chief executive Ray Morgan to stand down. It is the work of Michael Osman, founder of an obscure political party called the UK Community Issues Party.

The petition states that Mr Morgan’s “conduct has fallen below that expected, based on the overspend of £1.2 million of taxpayers’ money on the new Albion Square Canopy.”

Mr Morgan apologised last month for allowing money to be spent on the canopy without authorisation from elected councillors.

The petition also refers to a financial blunder last August that saw the chief executive making an apologyy for allowing £400,000 of taxpayers’ money to be lent to council company Thameswey without proper authorisation. Copies of the petition have been circulated on the Barnsbury Estate in Woking, where Mr Morgan is unpopular due to council plans to build new homes in back gardens.

Recipients are being asked to sign and support Mr Osman’s calls for Mr Morgan to resign and post the petition to 10 Downing Street.

Mr Osman was not available for comment this week. However, it is not usual practice for the Prime Minister to become embroiled in matters such as this. The usual process is for the disgruntled to contact a local government ombudsman once they have given the council an opportunity to address concerns.

Mr Morgan told the News and Mail this week: “I am aware of the petition that Mr Osman is circulating.

“I regret he found it necessary to do so but we live in a democracy and it’s important that people have freedom of speech and expression, even if I don’t agree with what they’re saying.”

Mr Morgan has had a rocky few months. Last year he was awarded an OBE for his visionary efforts to steer Woking down a greener path.

And last March he was commended by the Prince of Wales for his vision in setting up Woking’s environmental initiatives, such as the combined heat and power unit in Kingfield.

Many still see Mr Morgan as a green champion and someone who has helped improve life in Woking.

But others feel the financial mistakes that have come to light in recent months should be Mr Morgan’s cue to bow out.

Rosemary Macneill is one of the Barnsbury Estate residents who received the petition last week. Four members of her family signed the form before Mrs Macneill sent it off to Downing Street on Friday.

She said: “He shouldn’t resign, they should sack him. The council has been wasting our money and it needs to be stopped.”

Numerous calls for Mr Morgan to stand down have been made on the News and Mail’s letters pages. One correspondent has been Westfield resident Bob Shatwell.

He said: “To get anything done about Ray Morgan, we need to get all the parties who have demanded his dismissal together and present a case to Anne Murray as leader of the council. We need to give the council an opportunity to do something about it first.”

But Cllr Murray told us this week that a public meeting to discuss Mr Morgan’s position would be “inappropriate”.

She added: “There has been full disclosure and all the facts have been presented. We were determined there should be no information held back and there wasn’t.

“Ray Morgan’s employment is not a matter for members of the public to discuss at a public meeting, especially with me present. It’s totally inappropriate.”